The Bookmark that Almost Wasn’t

I went to the sewing store and looked at new sewing/embroidery machines.  Boy, oh boy!  I could go for one of those babies.  But I’ll have to think about that for a while.

I decided to make another bookmark since the first one turned out so beautifully.  I set it up the same as the last one, wash-away stabilizer, 100% cotton upper and bobbin thread, 75/11 needle. 

With the stitching well underway I turned my attention to other things…. unpacking 120 spools of colored thread.  I had also purchased a wooden rack and so I took the time to set the cones in order.  I feel like I’m really in business now.

The beep of the embroidery machine interrupted my thoughts.  The thread must have broken.  When I looked at my project I almost had a heart attack!  The needle was out of the machine, wrapped in a ball of thread and caught on the end of the bookmark.  The bookmark was torn away from the stabilizer and all bunched up near the middle of the hoop.   All I could think was, “Oh great, I’m almost done and now I’ll have to toss it.”

Just before I started the project I changed the needle.  Its possible the needle wasn’t tight enough in the machine.  Maybe I just put it in wrong, I don’t know.

I didn’t take a picture of the mess, something I promise never to overlook again.

Rather than toss out the base, which had nearly finished sewing out, I smoothed the edges and decided to try and save the bookmark.  I took a piece of thread and worked it through the loops of the area where the bookmark had torn away from the stabilizer.  After stretching it tight and tying it to the end of the hoop I held my breath and started the machine up again.

 

The machine continued to stitch leaves and flowers, and even a pretty yellow bow as if nothing had ever happened.  And then it was finished! 

Oh my gosh, I made it through one of the most horrible experiences in my life.  Again I have to apologize for not showing you a picture of the mess that it was, then you could have appreciated how nice it turned out.

After soaking the bookmark in a bowl of warm water and patting dry I ironed the wrinkles (from the previous mess) from the end.  You can click on the pictures to get a better view of the bookmark that almost wasn’t.  It seems like a miracle that it turned out so good.

Today I learned that I need to check my needle before stitching a new project.  I also learned that one small 150m spool of white cotton thread only makes 2 white bookmark bases.

Thanks for listening ~